As Stars Evacuate 'Glee,' Lea Michele Keeps Smiling [Photo]

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Yahoo! TV•June 29, 2013

By Season 6, "Glee" might just be Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) roaming the streets of New York and singing to no one while random kids walk the halls of McKinley hoping to become red carpet-loving jukebox heroes like, well, Lea Michele.

The list of who's not returning for Season 5 (according to TVLine) is long:

Expectant mom-to-be Heather Morris (Brittany S. Pierce) is not expected to pop by for a visit.

Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman) sailed away.

Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray) has floated on.

Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones) is Audi 5000.

Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) has hit the road, Jack.

And Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson) ... is a man of mystery. What we do know is that Criss is nowhere to be found in this photo collage that Michele shared on Instagram:

Fox is staying mum for now, but we wouldn't recommend holding your breath. After all, if Criss was in, wouldn't he be in the photo?

On the flip side, Melissa Benoist (Marley Rose), Jacob Artist (Jake Puckerman), Becca Tobin (Kitty Wilde), and "The Glee Project" alums Blake Jenner (Ryder Lynn) and Alex Newell (Wade "Unique" Adams) have all been promoted to series regulars for the new season.

"Glee" has been on somewhat of a downward creative and commercial spiral. It's hard to be a high school show when the kids don caps and gowns. (We never had that much fun at California University with Brandon and Kelly, right?) Will fans (and Fox execs) stop believin' in the once-hotter-than-L.A.-temps-this-weekend musical series? Season 6 is, for now, a done deal. Good thing or bad thing? Sound off below.